Virginia House of Delegates Passes Bill Rewriting Virginia Law Addressing Mandatory Reporting of Offenses Committed on School Property

The House of Delegates passed a bill significantly rewriting a section of Virginia law that handles crimes committed on school property and how officials report those offenses to law enforcement and parents. On Tuesday, eight Democrats crossed the aisle to help pass the bill, 59 to 40.

The legislation is a response to a Republican campaign promise from 2021 after conservatives accused Loudoun County Public Schools officials of mishandling sexual assault cases. Republicans criticized 2020 bills HB 257 and SB 729, from Delegate Mike Mullin (D-Newport News) and State Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond.) The bills changed Virginia law so that principals were only required to report felonies. In January 2020, Mullins said in committee that the bill was meant to keep students from facing overly harsh criminal justice consequences

“This bill requires reporting of any felony marijuana controlled substance, also requires the reporting of any shooting, stabbing, sexual assault, cutting, wounding of any person, any abduction or stalking any threats against school personnel, the carrying of a firearm, illegal conduct including explosive threats or false threats to bomb,” HB 4 sponsor Delegate Scott Wyatt (R-Hanover) said on the House floor Monday.

On Monday, Delegates Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke City) and Vivian Watts (D-Annandale) worried that the bill was overly broad and might hamper efforts to reduce the school to prison pipeline. Rasoul proposed an amendment that would remove sections of the bill referring to verbal threats, and said he was concerned that section would lead to students with disabilities who made threats being reported to law enforcement…. (Excerpts from the Virginia Star)